LESSON 1:

WHAT
IS
CONTEMPORARY ART ?
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
•define the term "contemporary art" in art historical, cultural and
stylistic terms;
•explain the difference between contemporary art and modern art in
the context of the Philippines' various histories,cultures, and identities;
•demonstrate the major characteristics of contemporary art through an
artwork that would require teamwork and collaboration;
•appreciate the role of contemporary art and artist in Philippine
contemporary life;and
•understand contemporary issues and their relationship to real life
situation.
It is a common tendency to describe the present as "modern". Being modern
means being up to date and technologically advanced. Often, being modern is
equated with being contemporary. Art that is new or current is also often referred
to as "modern" as opposed to "traditional" or "conservative". In other words, in
everyday parlance, the terms are interchangeable.

In this lesson and in the more detailed history in the next, we will learn that the
terms modern and contemporary refer to vastly different periods. Modern Art is
not the same as Contemporary Art, although they could share some
characteristics, sources and influences. As we will come to realize and learn as we
go along, it is also possible to integrate and transform elements from Modern Art
into Contemporary Art.
FAQ What is contemporary? Is it the same as being modern?

The first difference between the contemporary and modern is historical and
chronological, as the overview of Philippine Art in Lesson 2 will show. Meanwhile,
the table suggested by Arts Studies Professors Fajardo and Flores titled "Historical
Overview of Philippine Art" (2002) below shows a summary of the periods of
Philippine Art from Pre-Conquest to the Contemporary. Please take note that this
table includes painting, sculpture, and architecture only. As you learn more in
succeeding lessons, you can add on your own data on the other arts like music,
dance, and theater.
FAQ What is Contemporary Art? What is Modern Art?

If we talk in terms of Art History (refer to the aforementioned matrix),

Contemporary Art can be defined as art produced by artists living today.

The picture on Figure 1.2 and the painting by HR Ocampo on figure 1.3 have the
same subject matter: the poor and ordinary people on the streets.
HR Ocampo's painting (Figure 1.3) was painted in the early 1960's. At that time,
the painting was considered contemporary. Today, we refer to these works as
examples of Modern Art, produced between the America colonial period to the
Post-war period. Some Modern artists continue to produce work till today. In that
sense, their works can be described as contemporary, by virtue of being "of the
present". For example, the National Artist Arturo Luz continued to produce
paintings in his 90s and well into the 21st. However, as seen in Figure 1.1 the table
of " Historical Overview " his paintings' hard-edged and minimalist abstract style
is associated with the Modern style of the late 20th century. The "contemporary" is
therefore a fluid term, and it's use can change depending on the con-texts, in this
case historical and stylistic. At times, the Modern and Contemporary can be used
simultaneously or interchangeably; however, there is also danger of using them
carelessly or loosely. Thus, it is important to know the historical, and stylistic
contexts of the terms.
There are a number of artists----young and senior,alike---who paint in styles
associated with Modern Art movement that challenged the Neoclassic style, which
was dominant at the time he came home from studying in America before the war.
The Neoclassic style depicts reality as closely as possible and idealizes it. The
Modern artists led by Edades challenged what were described as "conservative" art
seen in the works of National Artists Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo
Tolentino. Modern artists do not aim to copy and idealize reality; instead, they
change the colors and flatten the picture instead of creating illusions of
depth,nearness, and farness. Instead of the beautiful and pastoral, they depict
what might be thought of as "ugly" and unpleasant.
At that time, Modern Art was considered new and shocking; Neoclassic Art was
familiar and comfortable. Neoclassic Art is also described by art historians like
Guillermo as "academic" along with other es-tablished styles imported from
Europe via Spanish colonization. In its simplest sense Neoclassicism is "academic"
as it was and continues to be taught in schools, particularly the then University of
the Philippines School of Fine Arts (now UP College of Fine Arts), where Amorsolo
and Tolentino were most influential. The School of Fine Arts is now the University
of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, where students are being exposed to
various styles. The Neoclassic style associated with Amorsolo and Tolentino
continue to influence a number of practicing artists who have learned to paint in
that style with the Modern style of the late 20th century. The "contemporary" is
therefore a fluid term, and it's use can change depending on the con-texts, in this
case historical and stylistic. At times, the Modern and Contemporary can be used
simultaneously or interchangeably; however, there is also danger of using them
carelessly or loosely. Thus, it is important to know the historical, and stylistic
contexts of the terms.
There are a number of artists----young and senior,alike---who paint in styles
associated with Modern Art movement that challenged the Neoclassic style, which
was dominant at the time he came home from studying in America before the war.
The Neoclassic style depicts reality as closely as possible and idealizes it. The
Modern artists led by Edades challenged what were described as "conservative" art
seen in the works of National Artists Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo
Tolentino. Modern artists do not aim to copy and idealize reality; instead, they
change the colors and either for-mally as art students in various universities where
Neoclassic style is included in the curriculum or infor-mally through workshops
and apprenticeship or through self-learning or self-study, as in the case of many
artists from the regions outside Manila.
Today,Modern Art is referred to as "traditional", compared to Contemporary Art.
Contemporary Art is the art of the present, which is continuously in process and in
flux. What is contemporary today might become " academic" or "traditional" at
some point. The styles of Modern Art for example are now part of art school
curricula and have become academic. Thus, the distinction between Modern Art
and Contem-porary Art could also be a matter of perception and reception
depending on the context, which will be discussed in detail in the succeeding
lessons. For now,it is important that we are aware of the distinction between
Modern Art and Contemporary Art, their differences as well as similarities.
Figure 1.5 shows Francisco's depiction of fishing as a difficult process, while
Amorsolo's rendition emphasizes calm and placidity. Like Francisco's Magpupukot
(1957), HR Ocampo's The Contrast (1940) in Figure 1.3, Cesar Legaspi's Frugal
Medal (undated) in Figure 1.4, Edades' The Builders (1928) in Figure 1.7 shows the
oppressive condition of the underprivileged classes. As we shall learn in the
historical overview in the next lesson, Modern Artists like Romeo Tabuena,
Hernando Ocampo, Vicente Manansala, Victor Oteyza, Ramon Estella and Cesar
Legaspi were actively depicting the social conditions in the aftermath of World
War ||. Called Neo-Realists by critic Aguilar Cruz, these artists depicted society's
problems and challenged the Neoclassic rural-pastoral style associated with
Amorsolo and Tolentino. The Social Realists of the seventies are considered heirs
of this tradition.

Social Realism continues to influence contemporary artists. For example, Imelda

Cajipe-Endaya's Filipina DH, 1995 is social realist, but the style and medium of the
installation is markedly different. Refer to "The Stylistic Overview" table (Figure
1.9) for an idea of the difference in style and medium between Modern Art and
Contemporary Art.
 STYLISTIC OVERVIEW
Form Precolonial Spanish/Islamic American Modern Postmodern/
colonial contemporary
Colonial

Painting Incipient
triumvirate
13 moderns, Collaborative,
abstract hyper-realist,
Religious/ new painting
neorealist,
devotional
surreal,
Secular
Formal expressionist
Religious Classical,
(animist or Naturalistic idylitic, Junk/scrap,
Sculpture
(homegrown,
Islamic) nostalgic duchampian,
Community- miniaturismo, Abstract arte covera,
base Inter - guild) Espressinissm neo-
ethic relations Academic indigenous,
Collective site-specific,
history (figure F performance
and G) art, hybrid

Architecture Neoclassica, art Filipino

deco (juan architecture,
Worship-related Arellano, Juan urban planning,
and resindential Nakpil, Pablo economic zone,
Earthquake Antonio) Art neovernacular,
baroque Nouveau, International prefab,
Hispanic California regionalist,
industrializing,
revivalist Mission Style cosmopolitan
electric
(neogothic,
neoromanesque
Islamic)
Aside from style, it is also very useful to know where the artist are coming from
and circumstances of making and disseminating their art. With the table titled
"Cultural Overview", we can see that Contemporary Artist Bacani and Cajipe-
Endaya belong to different contexts. The latter has been exhibited in gallaries and
museums, just like the Modern Artists, or Moderns, for short. Bacani, on the other
hand, started exhebiting her works in Internet platforms like blogs and caugth the
attention of photographers. She soon became very popular in social, print, and
broadcast media. Now that she is exhibited in museum and gallery space, her work
has now crossed over to the domain of the Fine Arts.
 CULTURAL OVERVIEW
Form Indigenous Islamic or Folk or lowland Fine or world- Popular or
Southeast Asian Philippine based urban and mass
(Figure H) Muslim based

Painting

Sculpture Ritual and governance Colonial and Museum- Mass produce,

(Figure I and J) post-colonial circulated, market
Architect (Figure K and L) artist centered oriented
gallery-
distributed

Ibn Said Salipyasin Ahmad from Zamboanga, Mindanao come from a hybrid
mixture of the local Subanen and traditional Maguindanao Muslim cultures. He is
a contemporary artist but his cultural con-tex is indigenous Southeast Asian and
Philippine Muslim. His style can be considered "traditional" as it draws on the
tradition and intricacy of drafting technique, which he learned in a trade school in
Zamboanga. His medium is watercolor. His subject matter is the people of his
locality. His depictions invite us to witness his culture and it's traditions in the
context of today's changing times.
FAQ What are the general characteristics of Contemporary Art?

Although contemporary Artists like Saudi Ahmad continue to use traditional

media such as watercolor and oil canvas, others like Canjipe-Endaya use mixed
media. Some works are also site-specific, meaning they cannot be experienced in
the same way if removed from their original places of exhibit whether in the
gallery, out on the streets, in the forest, on the internet, ect. They are generally
process-based and integrate various mediums and art forms. For example, the
band sleepyheads integrate performance art, theatricality, and indie music in their
gigs.
The filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik and his family perform their life as their art and
vice versa, as evident in the art spaces in Baguio which have become associated
with a mix of performance, installation, architecture, and culinary arts. It is hard
to separate the artist from his place of practice, and his life work. However, the
output is not his alone. The process is collaborative, and the experience is
immersive and interactive, such that the art is never complete without the
audience's active input.
A lot of contemporary art may be collaborative/participative, interactive and
process-oriented, meaning that there is less emphasis on the finished product
and a single "author" or creator. This is not always the case for other works,
however. There is a wide range of strategies, media and techniques under the
term "contemporary Art". There are works for example that are done alone by
artists in their studios (such as Ahmad, for example) and are therefore not
working in collaboration with others; there are works that are too fragile for
direct handling and are not exactly "interactive", and so on, and there will be
many examples in subsequent lessons that may or may not exhibit all of these
characteristics evenly. Consider the characteristics outline in this chapter as
starting points toward an understanding and exposure to works that may seem
baffling, or strange, rather than abiding by fixed and unmovable criteria or
precondition that define Contemporary Art.
Contemporary Art is distinguishable from Modern Art in historical, stylistic, and
cultural terms. The most common characteristics of Contemporary Art revolve
around their being site-specific, process-based, collaborative, and interactive.
However, there are also artist who use a mixture of contemporary, indigenous,
Islamic, popular and traditional art forms, media, and content. This mixing and
combining of many elements make understand our own culture—itself a mix of
many different cultures, and histories. We also realize that Contemporary Art is
never fixed, but open to many possibilities. The different places in that Philippines
are home to rich and varied artforms, most of them unknown even to us who live
next to them. Others like Bacani live and work in other lands, which is also one of
the realities of contemporary Philippines. To study and appreciate the
contemporary is to experience and understand art as a window to Philippine
contemporary life.